Collapsible support for x-ray tubes



Feb. 13, 1945. E. R. GoLDFlELD E7 4|. 2,369,454

COLLAPSIBLE SUPPORT FOR X-RAY TUBES Original Filed April 2, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 msj-2 "2 I Feb. 13, 1945. E. R. GOLDFIELD ETAL 2,369,454 I COLLAPSIBLE SUPPORT FOR X-RAY TUBES 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 D 8 w 4 mG 4 l. FW s ,n Tmm No# m) a u a n m m. WRC Ww D4 5R O 3M .7. O 9 2 n d w 5 4 ,n A 3 m ym 9 4 G. b5 IIL l 9. .O F mm F |25 ROBERT L7. Q ZA VA Feb- 13 1945 E. R. GoLDFlELD E1- Al. 2,369,454

COLLAPSIBLE SUPPORT FOR X-RAY TUBES originar Filed April 2, 1941 4 sheefs-sheet 3 6in D -5 gl? ik?? 6|b I2 V 6l SIR 59 6le se blc Fla-9 58 67 me 4 sld FIG-H 5I 7Bn 7B ,K V BO\ 77 l N VE N TORS E D w//v l?. G0L DF/EL D Feb- 13, 1945- E. R. GoLDFlELD ET AL. 2,369,454

* COLLAPSIBLE SUPPORT FR X-RAY TUBES Original Filed April 2,'1941 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 se 39 so m4-1b v41' 75 l 7s 47C FlGf-S INVENTORS 50W/N R1 GOLDF/ELD RAL/2H C. ScH//e/Nq ROBERT .JY-5mm @Y W wf@ A T TONE K5 Patented Feb. 13, 1945 N UNITED STATES COLLAPSIBLE` SUPPORT FOR X-RAY TBES Edwin R. Goldlield, Ralph C. Schiring, and RobertJ. Stava, University Heights, Ohio, assignors to Picker X-Ray Corporation Waite Manufacturing Division,l Inc., Cleveland, Ohio, a-

` corporation of Ohio Original application April 2, 1941, Serial No. 386,390. Divided and this application July 18, 1942, SerialNo. 451,416

3 Claims. (Cl. Z50- 92) This invention relates to improvements in X-ray apparatus and particularly to improvements in a mobile unit adapted to be moved about on a-supporting surface and useful for both horizontal and vertical fluoroscopy and for horizontal radiography. Our invention also contemplates the incorporation in this unit, if desired, of equipment; for localizing foreign bodies, that is to say, for determining the position of a foreignbody in a patient.

Our invention also contemplates the construction and arrangement of the vparts of the mobile unit and the construction whereby the diferent parts may be disassembled and packed into a small spaceso that the device is capable of use as a field unit by the army with a maximum' 'of usefulness and requiring the minimum of space.'

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will appear from the accompanying'defeatures July 18, 1942, disclosing the same device, contains claims to certain features not claimed herein.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is an end elevation of ourimproved apparatus; p Fig. 2 isan enlarged fragmental top plan View of a portion of the iiuoroscopic `screen taken in iiibsiantially the position of the `line 2-2 of Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of the apparatus of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3A is an enlarged'fragmental sectional view taken along the line 3A--3A of Fig. 3;

Fig. Liris a top plan view of a base iioor or track along which the apparatus may be moved;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged` transverse sectional vievs7 `taken along the line 5-5 of Fig. 4; i 1pFi. 6 is an exploded view ofthe apparatus of 1g. i u Q Fig. 7 is` an exploded view of a portion of the foreign body localizer` attachment of Figs. 1 and3; l i

Fig. 8is a view of a cross arm in a position disassembled from its associated partsofFig. 6; F'Fi. 8A is a top plan View of the cross arm of Fig. 9 is a view of the folding draw bolts which secure the vertical mast sections together; y

Fig. 10 is a View of an end plate associated with the cross arm of Figs. 8 and 8A; l l I i Fig. 11 is an' enlarged vertical sectional view through the lower section of the vertical mast;

Fig. 12 is a transverse sectional viewV taken along the line "l2-I2 of Fig. 11; while Fig. 13 is a top plan View of the base carriage taken approximately from the position of the line l5- I5 of Fig. 6. i

The mobile unit here disclosed may beprovide'd with the track of Figs. 4 and 5 where theunit is to be used in the eld where a separate iioor or track must be provided. It is useful however without such extra track, in which `case the unit may be moved about on the oor of a hospital or other room and such use of the unit is ccntemplated. The unit therefore is mounted upon a base carriage which as shown in the various views is built up of sheet metal parts preferably *welded together to give a generally rectangular carriage supported at one end by the two swiveling casters 26 and at the other end by the two wheelsV 21 which are supported upon axles28 suitably mounted in the carriage 25. Preferably `all ofthe wheelshave rubber tires.

`The carriage is provided with a square well 32 into which fits `the bottom of a transformer case 33. This case houses the usual high tension transusual standard control circuits for X-ray `equipment including control knobs 31 and meters 38 sothat the equipment may be set for theproper operating conditions as is well understoo-din this l art. The control box is preferably provided with a. handle 39 on each side for its'manipulation. Suitable connections (not shown)` are provided at the rear bottom portion, that yis to say the `right-hand side of thecontrol boxas viewed in Fig; 6,` for the attachment of the supply wires from the generator set or other source of current and for the attachment of a hand timer if desired,` a foot control switch and other auxiliary equipment. Also a connection (not shown) is' provided between the control circuits in box 38 and the transformer in the casing `33. All con-` nections of separable. wire connections-differ in' ing device 4|a so as to hold the parts firmly in y :very ^carefully located fon their :respedtive `tubes size, shape or arrangement so that proper connections are alwaysl assured. Shockproo-f cables 40 are connected between the upper rear portion of the transformer in casing 33 and the X-ray tube to b'erlater dcrikred. The disassembled positlon of the ibase marriage, the transformer casing and the control box is shown in Fig. 6 and the assembled position of these parts is shown iin Figs. 1 andB. As best VieWedinFgs. .l and .3, these parts are held in assembled relationship by means of retaining rods 4.|`;one iat .each fs'ideiof the unit, attached between zthe .ehandle 39 atithe top and a suitable opening 42 in fthe base ycarriage. Each rod has an overcenter-togg'le 'securl5 position. When the unit sdisassemloled :for packing in the eld kit each aofi the irodsisfas-I tened to the top of the base carriage, one on each side thereof, between the points 43 and 44 shown in Fig. 13.

.A vertical masted is Aprovided ,at :one end of the :base Lcarriage `upon .which is vniminted a ver-- f-tically imdvalolefarm supporting `.carriage 4 6, 'This carriage 4.6 iin .turn supports ithe ihorizontalioross farm t4" .upon .the eend :of :which `is :mounted a .t3-bracket 48 1whichLcarries 'the.=fluorosco pic screen 49 and the X-ray tube 50. The :mast lliy is mounted .for :rotation ain a-well1castingr5il (lligs. @1.11 and 1%) `which lis secured by vbolts 52 ato the base carriage z5. :For purposes of disassembling 3.0 and ipackngrthe mast, lit .is -built 'in za :plurality :of :separable atubularpseotons. .'fIhe iuDper section y.comprises la pair of parallel `ztubes :.53 ltiedv .together .at the top :by itie :bars @54. The middle section .is composed of 'the :separate tubular lmem- -bers .".55 .and 456 rand ithe ibottom section yis =.c.om- :posed ,fof parallel rtubular .members 5:1 itied ttogether at the 'lower :end by itie rbars 15.8 Land iinter- .mediate ithe (ends mounted :in 1a meaning disk 59. 'che iefahand tubes 153., 55 ari-w51 for me. .e .have 40 :secured rigidly .tonne :side athereofrack zmembers v50 which coaet with mechanism in nahe cross iarm supporting carriage 4.6 der the :raising fand flowseringrof Athat carriage. 'These rack members lLare 45 ,so :that when the imast iis :assembled v:the rack members are .in gaocurate la-linement. The ,sepa- .liable connections between the marou's'itdhnlar 'members of :the mast zcomprise sleeve projections 55a :and a accurately finished with very small tolerances :to :nxt :in @the irrespective :enacting tower .ends `ref dhe vituloular .members 53. .Positioning `mea-nscomprises the small rpins 55h and nahmespeliively, which .renter tinto notches zii-3a when' the parts are assembled.` .dn :a Asimilar ,fashion the sleeve projections r'lra on the lower mast :section fit-.into thelowerends :of tthe ztu'bes 5.5 and 55.. The fmastjs :held together as ra avh'ole :by :means .o'f

-folding draw 'bolts ifl :best :illustrated .F.i'g. e9.

*Each of ithese bolts :carriles ra 'Wing inut illa rat -theupperend andza centertngfwasherflillb..

y :lower section :of ithefbolt iis threaded rasat'dle :and

.carries :a :guide extension tilfd.. .'I't iwill ebe noted fromlFig. A11 that leach 'of .the itubular `'-.men'lbers 54 is provided Withia centrally llocate'd threaded portion 62 located 'in :a :cup-shape depression beL low 'the .sleeve protection f5l1a'. the ibolt -ll is extended downwardly @through theho-llov'f tubular mast sections 'the `cup-slfietperecess guides the end 'srld olf 'the bolt into :the ithreade'd Lopening B2, :after whichituming oflthe nut il a causes the 'thread .Sf'lc Sto engage lthe thneads .at '2 eso. as to tightly duaal 'the unastfsections-itogether; 'i bolt 6.1 .is .provided :a :oldable taint-iras. fat 6-:|.e.;so lthat thewbolts may be'ipacked in theleid 4:Ni

kit. The length of the upper, central and lower sections of the mast when disassembled as shown in Fig. 6 are of approximately the same length as the longer dimension of the base carriage 25 so 1th'atthes'e parts Will all fit 1in fthe same chest.

'Thefdetails of the mounting of ithe mast 45 in the base casting 5I are best seen in Figs. l1 .and 12. This base casting has an annular perpendicular bearing Ysurface at Ela adapted to 'coa'c't With the'corresponding annular surface 59a tof ithe fdisk .59. One of the tubular sectionsv 51 rzciarries .a .bearing :roller 63 on a shaft 64 which .extends |through ithe ytuloe and is secured by a nut E'65. "I'heroller =63 is so positioned that it bears upon the -upper `horizontal annular face 5 lb of the casting dill. Preferably this casting has slightly milled-rout hollow 4.spots B6 located at four points 90 apantso tha't .the mast may be more or less denitely located in each of four yoriented positions With the cross arm 41 extending either for- -Ward :or ,rearward ,parallel :to the longer dimension of -fthe basexcarriage 215 or iin ,position lexitending :laterally ite :either side ,of thefcarniage -2.5

vIt will .be noted that the rellerS-B isron thatfside-.oi

'the ,mast beyond which #the arm M iextends :to .support .the Weightiof Afthe bracket 48, the xsdceen .49 .and `the Atube 5D. This fcionsiderble weight-a1'.

one side of the :carriage would not-'be -r-mly supfbottom tie bars 58 fare provided withla ioentral 4 ly located opening into which renters a .stud 65! which .as shown in iFig. lil is lbolted .f-to :the 'cere' rtralfbottomfportion of the casting h151.. illhe positions fof sthe hearing surfaces ion :the disk *.59 :are accurately located with 'reference to ithe fstud 6'! .and @all .of ithe icoacting' :bearing surfaces 4inch-.ui-

iing the central 'aperture in fthe ibars `i513 arie :held to very small tolerances :so :that fthe :mast 'is very itirmlyxsuppor-ted in erected position.

.-For :holding the mast iin assembled :position mithin `the base casting 51 .a latch ,6B isslidably supported beneath .the disk59 jin a sbracket t9. A spr-ing 1.0 -urges the `latchradially voutvvardla'.. Through a slot' 59D in the disk 59 iextends a Apin or handle. `'H ,by .which .the llatch .may .be manipulated. The nose of 'thela'tch lis adapted to .enter intol an vannular `groove .5,lc `in .the Iinner Wall of the casting v5l1near the top 'thereof when the .mast is assern'loled 1in the base.

Means vis provided for moving the cross 'arm supporting carriage 45 vertically along .the mast 45 and for holding this carriage in any ,position to which it is moved. .This means comprises a gear 12 indicated in Fig. '6 'which 'engage's'the rack memberll andjw'h'ich in'turn is operatedlby 'a pinion "lf3 which 1in turn is operated by a Temovable' lcrank which 4mayfbe inserted from either Iside otcarriage at pdint 14. In connection with the gear mechanism T2, TI3 'We provide 1the clutch -Inechanism 'disclosed 'and claimed infatent No. 2,123,528, granted July 12, 1938, to jlil'd- 'Win V1R. "Goldfield 'andCJaperton iB. ilors'ley. As

eieany descanse *in the said patent the 1trank handle may be rotated freely to movethe car'- r'iage '46 and' dow-nf Vlouft 'when manipulation of the vcrank handle iceasestlr'e built in cclutch `mech-'- i anism automatically locks v:the "carriage in fthe position 4to which it has been moved. l

The horizontal cross''arm `d'.l=.eon1prises a lpanf of paralleltubular:membersfrigidlyfconnected tta:-

.fgether at one .fend by the .tiewba-r T5 zand the idisk 16. This cross armis `:supported tm suitablellrolliof thefcross arm 41.

aseo-1,454

ers inthe carriage46 so thatth'e arm isfreel'y slidable in a horizontaldirection.V The'cross arm 41 when disassembled as fshowntin 'Figsff 8 and 8A is of approximately the same length* asthe longer dimension of carriage .25 or the yvarious cross arm 41 is readily inserted through the carriage 46 after which the end plate assembly is secured in position to not only hold the connected ends of the cross arm 41 rigid but also to limit transverse movement of the cross arm 41.

The bracket 48 is removably mounted on the outer end oithe cross arm 41 for rotation relative thereto. This construction is best seen in Figs. l and 3A. rI'he cross arm-41 has a nose 41e extending beyond the disk 16 which entersa suitable bossed opening in the bracket 48;' Preferably the opening is provided with a plain bearing 8l which embraces the nose 41o. Rigidly mounted cn the nose and slightly spaced from the disk 16 is a truncated cone disk 82. Mounted on the bracket 48 is a stamping 83 having an arm 83a which is loosely bolted to the bracket. 'Ihe stamping has a beveled nose 83h which engages behind the cone surface of the disk 82 so as to The arms 18 .have slotted openings '18a adaptedto swing into position emil bracing the neck `portions 41h which support the hold the bracket 48 rotatably on the nose 41c and to act additionally as a friction lock if desired. "A wing nut 84 controls the position of the stamping 83. The disk 16 is provided with suitable notches 16a into which a locking dog 85 is adapted `to enter. This dog is spring pressed Ytoward engaging position and ismounted in a suitable guide BB on the bracket 48. The dog is controlled` by the handle 81.` Preferably the outer face of the disk 18, that is, on the right-handside as viewed in Fig. l. is provided with a mark ing dial graduated in degrees so that the operator can determine the position of the main portion of bracket 48 relativel to the horizontal or vertical when adjusting the position of bracket 48 rotatably about the nose 41e.

, The mounting of the screen and X-ray tube onthe bracket 48 and the mounting of this brackthe top mast section, the two centermast sections et on the cross arm 41 preferably follows the y teaching of Patent No. 2,097,095, granted October 26, 1937. to Edwin R. Goldiield, Caperton B. Hors tion comprisesa sleeve 89 onthe bracket 88 which `is clamped to a separable nose or projection by means ofthe wing nut 98 sothat the parts may` be disassembled at this point. The sleeve 89 may be clamped in position to hold the fiuoroscopic` vscreen horizontal when desired by mean'sfof 'a pin 89a whichextendsthrough sleeve 89,`member `94, and bracket arm 48a of `bracket 48, `as best lseen in Figs. l and 16.` This is the position of the screen. for foreign body localization. A latch 38a pivotally mounted on the frame oi screen 49 maybe hookedover a pin on bracket 88 to prevent tiltingofthe screen about pivot 49a.

The X-ray tube 58 is of standard construction and isremovably secured at the point 9| t0 an arm of the bracket 48 by a connection which is in all respects similarto that shown in Figs. 3A and the parts vhave the samedimensions so that i if desiredithe :bracket 48 may be removed from `the nose` 41e andthe X-ray tube 50 may be di- "rectly -mounted on the` nose 41e Jfashion.` l

` in rotatable i The high tension cables 40 as 4previously menl tioned lare connected Y between the transformer: 33 and the X-ray tube `5|).

The excess length of these cables is supported in two cable supports |23 mounted on opposite sides of the cable support slide |24 which ismovable up and down the mast 45. A spring catch on the slide |24 engages the rack 68 sc as to hold the cable supports in any adjusted position.

The base carriage 25 as previously mentioned may beprovided with a track |25 (Figs. 4 and 5) when some separate additional surface is necessary to support the carriage or when the unit is used as a foreign body looalizer. This track isV preferably provided in a plurality of sections, the dimensions of which permitthem to be placed i in the same sized chest which accommodates the carriage 25, the various sections of the mast and other parts previously described. In other words i floor atthe points |26a and |2111 so as to facilitate the movement of the carriage 25 on and off the track. It will be understood that the track sections are secured to their respective floor sections and are broken at approximately the same points although the breaks in the track proper and the supporting base may be slightly overlapped if desired. Along the outside of track |21 are secured sections of arack |28 which is adapted to coact with theforeign body` localizer as described in the above-mentioned parent application.

A number of the parts which have justbeen A described may be packed in a chest having inside dimensions of 161A" width, 28" length and 141/2" height. At the bottom of the chest may be packed or tubular members and the folding draw bolts. In a layer vjust above this may be packed the carriage 25 and on the top layer of the chest may be packed the bottom mastisection with the Vcross arm supporting carriage in position thereon, together with the cross arm itself, the cable sup-` ports and the radiation cone. In setting up this portion of the apparatus the lower section ofthe mast is easily assembled into its supporting casting after which the center and top mas-t sections are assembled and clamped ytogether by means of the folding draw bolts 6|. The assembly of the cross arm in the carriage 46 has already been described.

Whatiwesolaimisz I 1 -1 1u In. Xeray apparatus-,- base, csa-laringe,l a ver.-

toal Vmast for' supporting; an X-ray tube., andi a `separable;connectionv between the lower endA of mast, and said parts in latching position preventing removal. ofisaid mast. from said housing.

2. vIn X-ray apparatus, a base Carriage, a. Vertical mast on said carriage for supporting an vX'1ay tube, said mastA comprisingI a pluralityof hollow tubular members assembled in vertical alinement, said members having interiitting parts at. their adjoining ends providing a. rigid mast when assembled, and# bolt means extending through the hollow'portions; or saidgtubular members andzhaving threadedjengasement inside the Vend tubular member efl said mast for holding' the mest assembled, t t

3'.v In Xi-rar` apparatus. a, base carriage, avertiealy x11-astl on; said carriage, said mast comprising two; parallel tubular members, means connecting saidv tubularv members nearthe topI and bottom of. said mast; a. crossearm at righty angles to said mast,.means;mountingz said arm on said mast for movement generallyA parallel to a plane passing througlivsaid tubularmembers, and an X-rayftube mounted on1 an end: of said arm spaced fromv said raast,` wherebysaid tubular members reinforce each other' to support said arm and: said X-ray tube. v v

' EDWIN R. Groll,DFI-EBD'.`

RALPH C. SCHIRING. RCDBER'Iv J. STAVA. 

